Almohad coinage. Half dinar in the name of Abd al-Mu'min, the first caliph of the Almohads. I think he is identified in the nasji script in the anverse. Along the 4 portions outside the square? But I can not read it and do not know what it says exactly.
weight 2.25 g.
The almohads restored the original weight specified for the gold dinar. Those followed the older byzantine standard of 24 carat (4.54 g) solidi. Because of this increase in weight the almohad dinars were called dobras or doblas in payment records in the christian kingdoms. The restored weight was almost double the debased dinar of the late almoravids.
diameter 21 mm.
Inside the lower square borders the mint: Madinat (obverse) Miknāsa (reverse).
That is current Meknes in Morocco. The city was harassed and taken by Abd al-Mu'min in AH 540 (1145-1146). So it must have been struck in this date during the siege to pay the troops or shortly after. Gold coinage was a privilege of the caliph and he was only present in this city at that time.
Sought one for my collection because these coins were also used in the iberian peninsula. Their history did not end with the Almohad empire. The coins are mentioned in records of payments made in the christian kingdoms until the fourteenth century.
In the standard spanish catalogue it is reference Vives 2051.
I suppose the coinage in Meknes was not very abundant because die matches are easy.
The obverse die was the same that struck the coin in this auction
https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=l...6393&lot=367The reverse die was used in this other coin
https://peus-muenzen.auex.de/Auktio...&los=1460368Can someone here tell me what the script on either side says?
Posted 10/25/2024 12:16 am
